It's A Pirate's Life
by WritinGale
Summary: Set in Detroit during the 1920's Prohibition. Killian is a rum runner and Emma is set on catching him.


**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Once Upon A Time including the characters who I have taken my liberties with. I own nothing but this work itself.**  
**AN: This is my first fanfic in years and I've only written one before. Please keep in mind that it will not be perfect, but please also give me any tips or advice you may have on improving it.**  
**This work was written for my good friend Cheyenne who gave me the prompt.**

* * *

"I'm serious Gold, give me the case." Emma persisted, exasperated in her efforts.

She'd been on the force nearly a year now and still nothing. Her boss, Police Chief Gold had her doing office work most days. When she finally got the position she was given the title "detective." What they really meant was secretary. Whenever a new case came in she was given the file and asked to look it over for anything the real officers may have missed. On occasion she found something of value and was given a pat on the back. She was constantly reminded that if she kept up the hard work her training would soon be over. At first she believed it, but after seeing many a men enter the force and be promoted out of the rookie tier in less than a month, she gave up hope.

Once in a blue moon she'd be allowed at a crime scene, but only with supervision from a handful of male officers. Though it was frustrating not being trusted with any real responsibilities, these were her favorite days. Despite what Gold thought of women, Emma was one of the brightest young officers in the force. She knew exactly what to look for, and which eye witnesses were worth while. She was fantastic at calming people and her charismatic personality led them to the real problem at hand, and usually the solution as well. But even then, she was given very little credit and could take no liberties for herself but tell her superiors what she learned and advise them on what she thought was the best course of action. Many of the deputy officers respected Emma and followed her advice but it was never enough for Mr. Gold who felt women could not be trusted with jobs meant for men.

The closest she'd gotten to acting as a true police officer was sitting in on interrogations. She was restricted from directly communicating with the suspect and the only reason she was even allowed in the room was because she had a special skill: she could always tell when somebody was lying.

Once the chief had recognized her ability, he introduced her to David Nolan: the head interrogator in the Detroit district. David went over the basics with her: do not touch the suspect, do not speak to the suspect, do not approach the suspect unless myself or another officer accompanies you, blah blah blah blah blah. During interrogations she'd sit next to David taking notes. If the suspect answered truthfully, Emma did nothing. However, if they answered with a lie, she would tap David's knee twice under the table. He was able to use the information she gave him to ask the right questions and dig the truth out of guilty suspects, in turn the innocent were shortly released from custody.

Earlier this morning Emma's super power- or so David liked to call it- had opened up a new case. A portly man by the name of William Smee was taken into custody and upon interrogation told David of a bootleg operation running in Southwest Detroit. Emma sensed that he was lying and after two excruciatingly boring hours of question and answer, the two partners were able to weasel out that there was in fact a bootleg operation going on, just not where he had said.

Emma and David were able to deduce through Mr. Smee's loyal lies that Killian Jones, an infamous bootlegger the Detroit police force had been trying to catch for some time, was now the head of a rum running operation that was embezzling large amounts of liquor from Canada into the States.

The case had been given to August Booth whom Emma respected, but didn't particularly like. She felt closer to this case than any before and knew she had to be working on it.

"And why would I do that dearie?" The argument with Gold continued.

"I could go under cover. You know I'm the best actor in the entire force and I could use my skill to get information out of people! Please sir, I know I can do this. Do you want to catch Jones or not?"

Emma knew that Gold had a personal vendetta against Jones, though she was never able to find out why. He avoided any questions she threw his way and though it was obvious he was keeping some sort of secret, his lack of response to her questions left her unable to tell what was true and what was false.

"Fine!" Gold proclaimed "Do it your way, but as soon as you have the information we need, you come back here and let us do the rest. Women don't belong in the front lines Swan, you'll stay back here and avoid the dirty work."

* * *

Though Emma was irritated by what Chief Gold had said, she did not show it. Instead she went home to prepare for her first night on the job.

After digging through her closet for quite some time- because really, what does one wear when going undercover to catch a bootlegger that would very likely kill her if he knew of her true intentions?- she donned a drop waist skirt that ended just above the knee and a simple blouse with a daring neckline. Her long hair was left curled and pulled back into a simple bun. She threw on her favorite T-strap heels, applied much more make up than she felt comfortable wearing and left her apartment for a speakeasy called the Green Lantern Club that she had learned about through an anonymous tip at the station.

When she stepped inside the building, the first thing she noticed was the smoke. Nearly every person in the room had a cigarette in their mouth and those that didn't were filling themselves with hooch. There was a small jazz band playing in the corner and a handful of flappers dancing the Black Bottom.

Emma, who was already pushing 28 years of age was nearly a decade older than many of the club's patrons and felt more than a little out of place. She stood near the entryway awkwardly deciding what her next move was to be when a slender hand tapped her on the shoulder.

She turned around to see a tall brunette with bright eyes like a wolf's. The girl was wearing a bright red dress and a feather headband and it was obvious to Emma that she's a flapper.

"You look all balled up and lost!" the girl said, giggling.

"Well honestly this is my first time in one of these joints" Emma replied carefully. She had learned that the easiest way to lie was by including a bit of truth.

"Ooh a newbie! Don't worry 'bout a thing; my name is Ruby. I'd be more than happy to show you the ropes." Emma agreed, pleased that it had been so easy to make acquaintances and the bubbly girl named Ruby took her by the wrist and lead her to two empty seats at the bar.

The girls seat themselves and Ruby turns to a man on the right, tapping his shoulder and introducing him to Emma.

"Victor, this is my new friend."

"What's your name doll?" The man was not unsightly, but he wasn't even close to Emma's type. Yet his flirtatious demeanor seemed to be the norm around here and Emma knew not to be offended.

"Emma." She told him, knowing there's not a point in lying. It's a popular enough name not to raise suspicions and besides, she's not sure she could always remember to respond to an alias.

"Victor's a doctor." Ruby says, gushing.

"Oh?" Emma asks.

"No need to be surprised Emma, folks of all sort show up around here. I don't suppose anybody wears a high hat in this place. We're one in the same when in comes to the prohibition." Victor explains. She could tell he was of a higher class by his clothes and the way he spoke, so she did not doubt he was in fact a doctor, but regardless of what he said, she was surprised to see anybody of higher class mingling with what society had labeled as trash.

"Speaking of," Ruby interjects, "I'd like to get another drink. Victor would you be so kind as to grab us girls something to sip on?"

"Of course." Victors calls over the bar hand and orders three drinks. He hands one to Emma and Ruby and once everybody has a glass in their hand Ruby makes a toast to their new friend.

Following Ruby and Victor's lead, Emma takes huge swig of the liquor and feels a burn rushing down her throat. It's nothing like she's ever tasted before and though she's knows it's all kinds of wrong she takes a small pleasure in it. It's her first drink in years and for the first time in a long time she allows herself to let go and have some fun.


End file.
